Method and apparatus for removal of heavy objectionable material from cereals, legumes, and other food products



July 23, 1946, H M, SUTTON 2,404,414

' METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REMOVAL 0F HEAVY OBJEOTIoN-ABLE MATERIAL FROM OEREALS, LEGUMES, AND OTHER FOOD PRODUCTS Original Ffiled Jan. 17, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Il Ill/l l l I ll/ [/[77 ll/ Gtornegs July l23, 1946. H. M. sU'rrc-JN 2,404,414

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REMOVAL 0F HEAVY OBJECTIONABLE MATERIAL FROM CEREALS, LEGUMES, AND OTHER FOOD PRODUCTS Uriginal Filed Jan. 17, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 nventor July 23, 194s. H M SUTTON -4 2,404,414

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REMOVAL OF HEAVY OBJECTIONABLE MATERIAL FROM QEREALS, LEGUMES, AND OTHER FOOD PRODUCTS Original Filed Jan. 17, 1941 45 Sheets-Sheet 3 Snuentor Gttortegs July 23, 1946.4 2,404,414

METHQD AND APPARATUS EoR REMOVAL or' HEAVY oBJEcTIoNABLE MATERTEL FEoM cE'REALs, LEGUMES, AND OTHER FooD PRODUCTS H. M. SUTTON Original Filed Jan. 17, 1941 `5 Sheets-Sheet 4 NW 5 Q QU. v mv u O v vn @no ADM .D I .O v I O `-D n u.. v Q. .EOE mm a W 0 l 9 l 00.0 .D M 8MM v. l Ichu.. Qn l O Q W nun. n o V U MQQUuN/wco .a QDWEQOO @Wd 0 E Q m mvv @mw MN... D 09. ab@ O Q O c A l o E@ D a .,N

l'Snventor s w. m T m a July 23, 1946. M SUTTON 2,404,414

v METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REMOVAL oF HEAVYIOBJECTIONABLE MATERIAL FROM OEREALs, LEGUMES, AND OTHER FOOD PRODUCTS Original Filled Jan. 17, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Zmventor Cttornegs Ll/A..

Patented July 23, 1946 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REMOVAL OF HEAVY OBJECTIONABLE MATERIAL FROM CEREALS LEGUMES, OTHER FooDY PRODUCTS Henry M. Sutton, deceased, late of Dallas, Tex., by Frank E. Wood, executor, Dallas, Tex., assignor to Sutton, Steele & Steele, Incorporated, Dallas, Tex., a corporation of Texas Continuation of application Serial No. 374,920, January 17, 1941. This application December 4, 1943, Serial No. 512,938

14 cmims. (o1. 209-467) This patent application is a continuation of the Henry M. Sutton pending patent application Ser. No. 374,920, filed January i7, 1941, and bearing like title.

This invention relates to improvements in the method and apparatus for the removal of heavy objectionable material from cereals, legumes and other food products, and the object of the present invention is to accomplish this with the following new method and apparatus.

The present method andapparatus can be utilized for the' separation and cleaning of many diflferent materials or products. To enable a, clear understanding of the method and apparatus it is hereinafter described in respect to the removal of foreign substances from peanuts or the like, for which use the invention is particularly well suited. I

To bring out the advantages and improvements of the present invention which constitute an advancement in the art thev methods land machines heretofore used in connection with the harvesting and cleaning of peanuts and other legumes by separating foreign substances therefrom will be explained.

Peanuts and other legumes are harvested by pulling Vthe entire plants with their roots and passing them through a suitably constructed thrasher which removes the nuts or other products from the plants orl vines. manner of handling, rocks, balls of clay, pieces of metal, glass and other heavyforeign material which cling to the roots are carried through the thrasher and althoughthe vines, c'haiis and free hulls are shaken loose and blown off, the heavy rocks, metal particles, glass and clay remain. The thrashed products are taken to the mill or processing plant for final cleaning by 'shalier'screens or tanning separators combining screens'. Large sticks, clods, metal and rocks are screened out over a perforated screen which has openings small enough to prevent large contaminations from passing through but small enough to allow passage of good stock. The material then lpasses over a screen with smaller openings' which in turn allows fine gravel, sand and dirt to pass but which retains the good material on its surface. The sand screen is usually directly below the top or scalping screen. Air suction on the screens'is sometimes employed to remove dust and chaff.

The so-called finished product is now free of large undesirable particles and ne dirt but it still contains all of the stones, glass, metal, etc. which are of the same size as the good product.

In other milling operations such as, the manu- By reason'of this facture of corn meal, flour, hominy grits, and celrial inair as if in water.

pressure and there are no high Velocity air curreals, these contaminations are always present in varying degree. kMagnets are used in some instances to remove metal, which is magnetic but the magnet cannot remove rock. clay balls, glass and various metal particles which are non-mag-A netic.

If this material is not effectively removed before processing, damage may be caused to the machinery in the mill and if it is not nally removed before the edible product is packed, yserious injury may befall the consumer.

My invention relates to lthe efficient and economical removal of these contaminations from all dry food products in one operation.

' 'In the present state of this art, there are two conventional pneumatic methods used. The rst and most widely used is the air leg 0r aspirator which attempts to lift the good material through a pipe leaving the heavier stones and meta-l behind. The objection to this type of unit is well known, namely, it is necessary to use air at high velocitiesto lift all'of the material except the stones. It is unable to efficiently remove light particles of glass, small stones, etc. for this reason. The small particle caught in` a mass of heavier particles is most likely to be drawn upward and lost with the good material. A particle must either go up or down. If itis of intermediate weight and remains suspended in air, other particles of the samejcharacteristics will gradually surround it until the velocity inlthe pipe increases to such an extent that all of the material including stones and good product are taken out at one time. 1t cannot cope with variation in particle shape. A hat, light piece of glass presented to the air current with its flat sideV down will be taken upward immediately-with the good material. If lower velocities are used,too much good material Vstays with the stones, glass and metal and a practical separationis not therefore accomplished.` E

The other method which is less widely used on account of its cost but whichfis far more efficient than the aspirating or suctiondevice, utilized a pneumatic or gravity table; using the air notation principle. This equipment actually iloats mate- The air is used under rents to disturb the separation. The heavy material sinks to the bottom of the mass and works gradually upward4 and side-wise until it is dis-- charged at the end along with a mixture-of good heavy material. The .chief advantage 1 ofthe gravity separator over the aspirator units lies in cannotbe heavy.

discharge. Equipment used in this process is i such as described and substantially as shown in Patent No. 1,710,521 granted to VSutton et al., April l 23, 1929. The disadvantage of the use of this method and type of separator is two-fold. First, although the removal of heavy contaminating materialfromA Q the bulk of the good material is perfect, the rocks, I stone, metal, and glass produce contains a quanltity of good material which is near the Weight `of the heavy contaminating material.

Cutting fingers are set to out out the stone product with the loss of as little good product as possible but `if, there is "a fluctuation in the quantity of rocks, .metaL etc., contained in the feedV going, to the machine some of this foreign material will discharge to the wrong side of the cutting finger Iand contaminate the material which is normally clean. For this reason it is necessary to have an foperator watch the table carefully andV make adjustments when necessary.

1' Even if the adjustments are kept perfect; there `is always a mixture of good material which is al- `most as heavy as the contaminationswhich re- :port in small quantities with the contamination. lThis heavy and discharge stream must be either constantly retreated, or if economical, justbe sortedby handV I'n most instancesthematerial making up'this discharge stream is Vthrown away whichrresults in a sizable loss 'of material during la years operation. l Y

The other objection to the gravity or air otation table is the limitation'in capacity. VMaterial Ais comned on two sides and it can discharge in'only one direction. 'I'he feed therefore c The present invention overcomes the disadvantagesfof both the conventional aspirator and the gravity separator. For years the apparatus and the process used by the inventor utilized the well knownv eccentric and pitman for yproducing the necessary reciprocation of the deck and the materialsY thereon being processed, substantially as shown in vpatent to Sutton, Steele and Steele No. 1,710,521 Y table granted April 23,1929. The above mentioned eccentric and pitman is necessarily limited in speed. i. e., ranging in practice from two hundred and eighty to four hundred twentystrokes per minute and the length of the stroke being three-eighths of an inch. 'I'he inventor has found this to be a comparatively slow oscillatory movement. In working out the present improvement the inventor discovered thatas the vibrations of the tables are increased,'the air pressure passing through the perforated deck to lift the material thereon can be greatly dimin-y ished- Thisrhigher speed agitation is very imrmrtantL in aiding ranid settlement'of the heavier elements through the lighter materials in the rnass.; To increase the frequency has the same effect as to increase the air. Therefora'less air `can be used and the separation will more closely approach true flotation as in water. thus increasing the range of materials of very close density which be separated. Y

yI The inventor has also discovered that an added friction value is given to the heavier elements 0f the mass against the roughened surface deck by the weight of the over-lying stratus of lighter together toward the discharge.

elements Which by their 'pressure force the heavier elementsinto contiguousvcontact with each other and against the roughened surface causing the heavy under-lying stratum to move forward It was found in experimenting that if various weight stones were placed only on the deck surface the end raise could be increased to the point where no stones would discharge since by this end raise the conveying action of the -high speed shaking mechanism had been counteracted. Then wheat was fed onthe deck and the pressure of this grain Ystarted the forward movement of the stones. As

soon as the feedwas reduced, the stones again. were stationary. An exaggerated feed brought all stones forward at a rapid rate'until al1 but a few lighter stones were discharged. These light stones remained against the diagonal banking rail and would continue to discharge only if additional stones were added to the feed. There 'was at times a tendency for some of the heaviest ywheat to work forward into the discharge'.

To remedy this, a specially constructed bar was utilized which extends across the'heavy particle discharge end which deflects air coming through the deck surface back against the flow of maf terial upwards but allows stones to escape freelyunder it. If light stones are blown backward by this action they quickly settle and start forward again in contact with the other heavier elements. The light material which has a tendency to move forward on the surface eventually builds up until it slides off the deck surface downward by gravity toward the light end discharge. 'Ihis deector, which is designated as a skimmer, is considered one of the chief features of the improvements of this invention.

At the light end discharge of the deck is provided an adjustable retaining wall extending across the discharge at right angle to the flow of the light material. This tailing riflle can be used to regulate the pressure as above described when working on the removal of heavy materials which are lighter than normal. It also prevents aky `stone. or glass from cascading from the feed and getting into the light material discharge. If this material drops too far near the end of the separator it is quickly held by thisl retaining wall and starts its forward motion under pressure of the lighter over-lying stratus.

' riille, or retaining wall,r can also be used to regu- If the material lacks weight enough to climb late the capacity making the operation fully automatic. This separator does not allow an intermediate or second grade product to be discharged.

through'friction'with the roughened surface it maintains its position on the deck of the surface and moves forward by contiguous contact with other heavier elements as above described.

Another important feature of this invention is the increased capacity which can be obtained on this separator. Except for the heavy end discharge point there is no banking rail to retard the movement of the light materialY in its how backward and with the degree of end raise used the light material flows freely and unobstructed.v

Capacities were obtained live to ten times greater for the same working deck areaas can be obtained on the standard gravity separator hereinbefore referred to.

'Ihe high speed longitudinally vibrating or trembling action is regarded as an important part of this invention. The use of a roughened sur- This face which imparts a hold tothe material on the lower stratum which combined with normal friction of the heavy material aids in its up-hill travel, is also regarded as important.

'I'he disposition of air under this blowing bar is also regarded as another important feature in this improvement.

Furthermore, the special construction of the deck surface is regarded as another important feature of this invention which will specifically be described hereinafter.

A further and modified construction is shown and described, wherein the Yblowing bar or deflecting pneumatic skimmerr is automatic in its action as will be described hereinafter.

Additional features of the invention will be referred to hereinafter. In the drawings: i

Fig.A 1A is a longitudinal vertical sectional view through the machine.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view with thedeck or covering being partly broken away. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail View in vertical section illustrating the preferred form of bar.

Figs. 4 and 5 are extremely enlarged detail verskimmer tical sectional and plan views illustrating the deck. I

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary enlarged vertical sectional. view showing a modified form of skimmer bar.

Fig. 7 is a plan view showing a modified Aform of an apparatus specially designed for separating the meats from the shells of cotton seed.

Fig. 8 is a central longitudinal sectional view of Fig. 7.

Figs. 9 and 10 are schematic views illustrating the hereinafter described operation of the present improved method.

Referring now specifically to the drawings the deck is composed of frame-work consisting of an air chest I ,which has a deck 2 which consists of a suitable covering which will Vbe specifically explained hereinafter. Said deck has upwardly extending sides 3 and these sides converge toward the center of the deck as shown at 4. This forms an outlet 5 through whichthe heavier particles 6 of the mass escape from the deck 2. The opposite end 'l of this deck is provided with a vertically extending wall 8 that spans said end 1. This end 1 will for convenience be referred to as an outlet for the lighter particles of the mass S', while the opposite converged end 4- will for convenience be termed the outlet for the heavier particles. Said end 4 is formed by the short parallel walls 9. and a skimmer bar r deflecting pneumatic skimmerv Il) .is vertically movable between said walls 9. The bar I B is broadly termed as a skimmer bar for the Want of a better term. It might be called` a blowing bar because itjdirects the air below it through'said outlet 5 and to some extent controls the air passing, or blowing through said outlet passage. Said bar is in the form of a square bar as shown in Fig. 2. This bar Ill has its bottom II curved as shown and its inner end I2 by an oscillating movable member I3 which carries at its upper extremity an eye I4 which is engages by a rod l that has its ends'ls fastened or clamped to the side walls 9. As shown by arrows the air is divided and caused to ow in opposite directions from about the center of said skimmer bar l0. Therefore the air is controlled by said bar and' it controls also the speed of and the amount of escaping heavier particles 6 of is. attached to and supported vclined in the direction the mass between the'walls 9. The bar vIIJ oscillates up and down by'swinging on said eye I4.

Attached to the upper end of the bar I0 is a rod Il!a that carries on its ends weights Ib that are adjustable on said rod I0a and by these weights the skimmer bar I0 can be balanced according to the requirements of the material being operated upon. i

Said mass is fed through a chute I8 that deof the flow of the lighter particles and said chute extends substantially clear across the deck, and it is preferably positioned nearer the end 5 than the end l.

The wall 8 at the outlet for the lighter particles is provided with an apron I9 and a gear rack 20 and a gear wheel 2l and a hand wheel, not shown, for vertically adjusting the wall 8 and thus controlling the depth of the mass maintained on said deck 2.

It-will of course be understood that the depth of the mass on the deck depends upon the character thereof that is being separated and cleaned. Attached to the-air chest and hence with said deck 2 is afan chest 23 that carries a suitable fan 24 that is containedin a suitable fan housing Y that has the usual air inlet 26 that is connected pose of this adjustment is Athe said deck to by a. passage 2l with an air filter 28. The passage 21 has the usual control shutter 29. The outlet 30 of said fan housing extends outwardly through the chest 23 as at 3| and is provided with a flexible connection 32 which attaches it to the member 33 which is connected to the air chest `I. Carried by the lower portion of said air chest where it connects with the member 33 are a plurality of adjustable louvres 34 for directing the air to the baflles 35 which are located below and preferably separated from said deck 2. The air flows in the direction indicated by/arrows from the fan to the deck 2.

Attention is particularly directed to the fact that the baffles 35 do not extend below the blowing bar I0 andV that therefore the air freely flows throughv the deck area 2 into the space under said bar I il. The purpose of this `is to blow out the heavy particles and thus prevent any choking of the apparatus.

The air chest I and the deck 2 carried thereby are attached to a chassis or member 3E. One end 37 of said member 36 is hinged at 38 to the said air chest, and its opposite portion 36 is adjustably connected with the air chest I by a vertical screw 39 which carriesa suitable handle e9. The purto increase or decrease the inclination of the deck 2.

Suitable vertical spring metal rods 40 have their upper ends connected with said member 36 and their lower ends connected with the chest 23, whereby said partsrl, 2 and 36 are longitudiH nally movable. These parts will hereafter be again referred to.

Attached to the member 36 is what may be termed a high-speed longitudinally vibrating or trembling mechanism 31. This trembling is longitudinal of the deck I', and its purpose is to cause vibrate or tremble longitudinally. The spring rods 40 are set at an inclination toward the wall 8 whereby the said movement lifts the mass 9 slightly. This causes the heavier particles to fall through the lighter particles and thus finally reach the deck and the heavier particles arev carried toward and escape through the outlet passageway 5. y

For the purpose of aiding the movement of the heavier particles on said deck I, saiddeck hasits top surface 4I slightly roughened to increase the crimped over the weft strands very rough upper surface as ordinary weaving of wire screening which has by the high-speed movement of composed of woven wire, and it has the warp strands M thereof compared with the both strands of the wire in the same plane which produces a comparatively smooth surface. As previously stated my screen is preferably additionally roughened substantially as shown at 43.

In the accompanying drawing Fig. vl, the power for operating the devices is derived from a driving element-preferably electricalwhich has a belt 44 that passes around the shaft 45 and a belt 46 from said shaft 45 to a shaft 41 and a belt 48 to a shaftg. This device carries weights D and 5| which are so geared up together that when rotatedrapidly by means vof a suitable driving mechanism, the weights are out of balance with each other in the horizontal line of movement, but are in perfect balance in a perpendicular line of the same. There are many devices of this kind on the market for the purpose of causing a rapid trembling or vibrating movement, for instance the well known AjaX-Shaler shaker made by Ajax Flexible Coupling Co., Westfield, N. Y. In the present invention it is necessary that this device be set so that the out of balance is in a nal line with the deck.

As clearly shown in Fig. l, below the deck 2 under the skimmer bar ll) at 2",the baies 3'5 are omitted topermit'the air at that point free to blow the lighter particles back, and the baffles 35 are omitted throughout that part which extendsbeyond the wall which permits the air to freely blow the heavy particles from the outlet to prevent any clogging of the outlet by them and they flow freely over the skirt rail 52.

It will be observed that the baflies 35 deliver y the air diagonally against the under side of the deck 2 in the direction of the flow ofthe lighter particles, while the heavier particles engagethe rough surface of the deck and they are propelled the deck into the narrow outlet opening in which the skimmer bar lll is located; Y

It will also be observed that the converging walls d form banking bars between which the heavy particles are crowded and against which they bank. The action of the skimmer or blowing bar is very different from prior devices known to the inventor. In the present instance is used anrexpanded draft of air at the outer edge of the skimmer or blowing bar and the intensity of the draft increases as the distance between its'under 42 thus producing a Y receiving end as shown at side and. the deck diminishes. The feature of the skimmer or blowing bar I0 and the converging walls 4 are important. The proper regulation of the distance the blowing bar I0 is spaced above the deck surface is such that nothing but the heavy elements pass under it and are discharged through the opening, while the lighter particles are crowded back and finally are discharged over the wall 8 at the opposite end of the deck.

It should be understood that the separation of the material in the manner described is accomplished by the high-speed longitudinal movement alone which enables the vsmall amount of air to cause Ythe mass to become extremelyy liquid throughout the entire mass without the necessity of varying the relative size of the air openings in the deck. This is a novel construction, operation, and method in separators. It makes the process of controlling the air automatic.

Therradius of .the curved under side of the skimmer bar shouldrbe thesegment'of a true circle because the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 3 operates better when so shaped. Placed at the extremity of the skimmer or blowing bar IU, a suitable skirtk rail 52 is provided, said rail being preferably declined.

In Fig. 6 is shown a modified form of skimmer bar which consists of a bar |0 having its under side le curved from its outer end a to its inner end b. This curve is preferably formed on the arc of a true circle, and the outer end a is attached to a member or tical grooves d formed in the inner side of the wall c.r Attached to the wall c is a vertical rack f `which engages a gear wheel g. The end of the shaft h that carries said gear g is provided with a hand wheelshown in dotted lineswhich is located outside of the wall c.Y By this construction said skimmer bar Hic is adjusted vertically according to the material being processed. `This skimmer bar is not automatic in its vertical movement, as is the skimmer bar Ill illustrated in the other figures of the drawings. I

Figs. 9 and 10 of the drawings serve to sche.- matically illustrate` and describe the present method. No attempt has been made to properly illustrate the disposition of the particles in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. light particles will have an upper surface which' is parallel vto the horizontal with the result that the bed of light material is of tapered depth with the deep end yof the bed at and against the retaining wall orgate at the lower end of the table.

In Figs. 'l and 8 is shown another modification of the machine illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive. This modication consists in lowering the banking bars shownl in the other figures of the drawings, and preferably increasing therheight somewhat of the walls 4, and instead of placing the feed I8 intermediate the ends of the machine as shown in Fig. .1,A it is preferably placed at the I8 of Figs. 7 and 8;

This modification is to, adapt th'e machine to the separation of meats from the hulls of cotton seeds. It will be observed that in thismodiication the machine utilizes the skimmer bar I0 and it works to remove the meats--the heavy partsof the seed from the hulls and by lowering the banking bars A, the lighter particlesthe hullsflow over thebanking bars A, while the meatsthe heavy particles-'flow under said skimmer bar Ill. In operation the cotton seed are previous/ly acted on in the well known method, which makes a mass composed of mixed shells and meats. This mixed mass is fed to the machine, and the heavy particles are separated from the light particles, and these two particles flow to different places.

In this modification the skimmer bar may or may not be provided with weights, according to the character of seed being processed. As here shown the weights are omitted. The deck 2a has its rear end provided with a wall B for holding the( mass being separated thereon.

Itwill be observed that the table or deck has wall c which slides in ver- Obviously the bed of l are ,continually beingjadded to from fresh material f the kind beine fed in with the stock they gradually accumulate enough friotional Value with the deck owing to the fact that the impetus of one stone is continually being added to the next, so that finally the forward line of stones or other heavy element overcomes the blowing back action Of the skimmer b ar and report out under it. This is, in brief, the process of separation here defined. If there is no material fed to the deck, there is no discharge of heavy elements out under the skimmer bar notwithstanding there may be quite a collection of them along the sloping banking bars. Therefore, in a way, the separation depends on the volumetric pressure that is developed by theweight of the material being fed in, which continually adds to the frictional value of the heavier materialA underlying the stock.

This apparatus and method is merely a cleanup separator either to follow and re-.wcrk over part of the product from a regular table, or to be used as a receiving separator at the head of a mill, or to be used as a separator on a mill refuse where usable products can be salvaged from waste materials. Concretely this is its eld of operation.

What is claimed is:

1 An apparatus for separating from an intermiXed mass 0f material made up 0f. particles having different specic gravities the lighter particles from the heavy particles comprising, an elongated deck having its longitudinal axis disposed at an inclination to the ver-ticahmeans for ra-pidly and smoothly longitudinally reciprocating said deck to avoid imparting a jerking motion to an abrupt stoppage of movement of said deck, said deck being porous, means for forcing air upwardly through said deck, walls of considerable height extending upwardly from the longitudinal edges of said deck, a wall extending across the lower end of said deck and mounted yfor vertical adjustment to prevent the escape 0f material from the lower end o f said deck until a bed of predetermined. depth has been created onsaid deck, walls converging towards the center of said deck adjacent the upper end thereof and terminating in an outlet opening, walls extending from seid outlet opening to provide an outlet passageway vterminating in an open end at the upper edge of said deck, the bottom` of said passageway being pervious for the upward passage therethrough of some of the air delivered for upward passage through the deck, a skimmer bar in said passageway and extending entirely Vthere-across and vbeing freely movable vertically in respect to the bottom of said passageway, and the bottoni face oi said bar being formed t0 direct the air which enters upwardly through the porous bottom of said pasi sageway horizontally bothv outwardly and inwardly in respect to said passageway.

2. An apparatus for separating light from heavy particles of an intermixed mass of material comprising, an elongated pervious deck, means for longitudinally reciprocating said deck in a manner to prevent any bumping or jerking action, means for forcing air upwardly through said deck,'an elongated narrow walled and-covered outlet passageway at one end of said deck for the discharge of heavy material, the cover of said passageway being movably mounted to swing upwardly Afrom the bottom of s aid passagcway, the bottom of said passageway being 10 wayA cover being curved to present a convex shaped surface opposed to the bottom of said passageway, and separate means for permitting the e escape of lighter material from said table. I

3. A construction such as defined in claim 2, wherein, the lighter material escapes from the end of said table at opposite'sides of the outlet passageway for the heavy material.

4. A construction such as defined in claim 2 wherein, means is provided rox-crowding and concentrating the heavy material toward and` in front of the inlet end'of said outlet passageway.

5. A construction such as defined in claim 2 wherein, the deck longitudinally is vertically inclined and at its lower end is provided throughout its Width with a vertically disposed wall mounted for vertical adjustment to selectively `create on said deck a bed of material of predetermined depth, and the upper end of said deck having inwardly converging wallsto crowd ,and concentrate the heavy material toward the inlet end of-said heavy material outlet passageway.

6. An apparatus for separating from an intermixed mass of material made up of particles having different specific gravities the lighter particles from the heavy particles comprising, an elongated deck having its longitudinal axis disposed at an inclination to the vertical, means vfor rapidly and smoothly longitudinally reciprocating said deck to avoid imparting `a jerking motion to an abrupt stoppage of movementof vsaid deck, said deck being porous, means forforcing air upwardly through saidr deck, .walls of considerable height-extending upwardly from the longitudinal edges ofrsaid deck, a wall. extendingacros's' the lower end of said deck and mounted for vertical adjustment to prevent the escape of vI naterial from the lower -end of said deck until a bed of predetermined depth has beencreated on said deck,wa1ls convergingtowards the center of said deck adjacent the upper end thereof and terminating in an outlet opening, a yclosed outlet passageway communicating with said outlet opening with said porous deck constituting the bottom of said passageway, said passageway at the upper `eind of said deck being open to permit material traveling through said passageway to escape from the upper end of the deck, the topvclosure of said passageway being in the form `0f Aa skimmer bar the inner end of which is horizontally pivotally mounted, the bottom `face of said gbar being formed to present a convex surface to the air entering upwardly through the porous bottom of saidpassageway, and means to feed the intermiXed material'to said Vdeck at a point intermediateitslength,

7. A construction such as defined in claim 5 wherein, means is provided for directing all Aof the air which passes through said deck other than through the bottom of said outlet passageway in a direction toward the lower end of. said deckQ and said skimmer bar suspension and curyature being such that the under side of said barA is disposed nearest the bottom of said passageway ata point adjacent but short of the open outer end thereof.

8. Alconstruction such as definedV in claim 6 wherein, the .suspension and curvature of the skimmer bar is such that for thegreater` portion f of the length .of the outlet passageway Asaid skimmerbar causes theair entering vsaid passageway .through the bottom thereof to be deflectedtoward pervious to permit the passage of air upwardly therethrough, andthe under side of said passage- Wards the open `outlet `end of said pa'ssagewaxnand said yskimmer bar deflect-ing. the'air entering said discharge Vof material from said Vopen end.

l 9. kIn an apparatus forseparatingV and sep- `atelynollecting particles in a mass in accordance with their differences in 'specic gravities, an inclined porous deck devoid of riffles on its surface, means to reciprocate said deck in line with its inclination, walls extendingalong the sides of said deck andat the upper endvof the deck converging'to define a restricted discharge throat and Iacting to concentrate the heavier particles, of said vmass under volumetric mass pressure to jcause theirY movement up said deck toward and through saidthroat discharge in response to deck impetus, an automatically operable curved plate overlying a porous portion of said deck and pivotally mounted for vertical movement in respect' thereto, said plate confining saidthroat discharge by beingpositioned so that the heavier particles of the mass must passv beneath the plate to discharge through said throat, means for maintaining a continuous-air current upwardly through said deck to stratify Saidfmass and to impinge against the curved surface of said plate, said plate curved surface acting todivide the air current which is directe-d against it into two'streams one of which moves in a direction to facilitate4 the discharge of heavy particles through the throat discharge and the other of which acts'to propel lighter particlesaway from said throat discharge, and vertically adjustable means at the lower end of said deck acting tomaintain a predetermined depth of stratified mass on said deck and to control thedischarge' of the lighter particles o f said` mass from the lower end of said deck. y V

10. An apparatus for separating andseparately collecting mixed particles of different specic gravities in a mass comprising, an inclined air pervious deck mounted for uniform and rapid reciprocation in line .with said deck inclinatiomsaid deck being provided withra roughened surface devoid of riiiles, conning walls at and extending along the sides of said deck, said walls at the upper end of said deck slanting inwardly and converging but having their endsstopping Short of meeting, said wall construction being for the purposer ofrpromoting contiguity of the heavy Aparticles of the mass and to define between the sep;

arated ends of said inwardly slanting Walls a f restricted throat discharge, said'throat disch-arge being elongated and having substantially parallel side walls and 4a pervious bottom, means for projecting a continuous air current upwardly through said deck and said throat discharge bottom, an arcuate shaped automatic particle and air controlling plate pivotally disposed between said throat Vdischarge side walls for vertical movement in respect thereto andragainst which air passing through the bottom of said throat discharge is directed and divided into two separate streams one of which moves outwardly through said throat discharge to facilitate the expulsion therethrough of the lower stratum of the mass and the other of which moves longitudinally over said deck toward the lower end thereof, whereby the mass of mixed particles on 'said deck will be stratified and constrained, except for the lowermost stratum, against other than movement down the inclined deck towards the lower end thereof, and vertically adjustable means carried by said deck and oppositelyarranged in Arespect to said throat discharge for 'controlling the depth ofthe 4 mass'on said deck to attain a predetermined prespassageway adjacent-the open outlet end thereof Y in a direction toward said open end to assist in the 12l f Y sure uponand rate of discharge offthe1- 10w stratum upwardly of said deck and throughsaid throat discharge. Y

11. The process of separatinglthe light from'the I heavy particles of a mass ofintermixed divided materials the particles of which are of different specific gravities, comprising, continuously feedpassage of any of said material from the Vlower end of said deck until a bed of predetermined thickness of said material is established on that area of the deck between the point of material feed and the lower end of said deck with said bed being deepest at the lowermost end of the deck and tapering in thickness upwardly of said i deck to the point of material feed to the deck,

making the inclination of said deckand the speed of reciprocation thereof and the amount of air forced upwardly through the deck such that the heavy underlying strata composed of heavy particles will not move up said deck until they are forced into close relationship-with one another and into frictional engagement with the deck by the force and weight exerted upon them by the said bed composed of the lighter particles, progressively narrowing the width of the stream l of heavy particles on said deck as said particles i move up the deck to thereby promote crowding Flo and contiguity of the heavy particles, and thereafter permitting the heavy particles to discharge at deck level from the upper end of said deck as, they reach said deck end by travel upwardly of the deck in response to the reciprocatory movement thereof through their frictional engagement with one another and with the deck.

12. The process'of separating the light from the heavy particles of a mass of intermixed divided materials the particles of which are'of different specic gravities comprising, continuously feeding to a longitudinally inclined pervious deck the upper surface of which is free ofany obstruction extending in a direction transverse vthe deck a stream of said mass at a point intermediate the length of said deck, conning said material "against escape from the sides of said deck, agitating and stratifying the material on said `deck by simultaneously rapidly reciprocating saiddeck inthe direction of its inclination and forcing air upwardly through said deck and the material thereon, permitting the upper strata of light material to move down said deck inresponse'to the `force of gravity but positively obstructing the passage ofV any of said material from the lower end of said deck until a bed of predetermined thickness vof said material is established on'that area of the deck between the point of material feed andthe lower end of said deck with said bed being deepest at the lowermost end of the deck and tapering in thickness upwardly of said deck to the point of material feed to the deck, making the inclination of said 'deck and the speed of reciprocation thereof and the amount of airv forced upwardly through the deck such that the f heavy'underlying strata composed of heavy parforced into close relationship with one another and into frictional engagement with the deck by the force and weight exerted upon them by the said bed composed of thelighter particles, pro- Vgressively narrowing the width-of the stream oi and contiguity of the heavy particles, and permitting the heavy particles to discharge at deck level from the upper end of said deck as they reach said deck end by travel upwardly of the deck in response to the reciprocatory movement thereof through their frictional engagement with one another and with the deck. y

13. A process for pneumatically separating a mass consisting of heavy refuse particles and lighter particles by feeding said mass on a rapidly reciprocating wide pervious bed through which air is forced upward through said mass to cause the separation of part of said heavy refuse from the lighter particles, and separating the remaining unseparated heavy refuse particles by passing them through a transversely contracted passageway in respect to said wide bed and simultaneously forcing air upwardV in said passageway and causing the air to simultaneously flow in two directions within the passageway, one in the direction of the outlet end of the passageway to force said refuse out of the passageway and the other air inwardly within said passageway to force inwardly the lighter particles causing them to mix with said mass, whereby a clean mass of lighter products is the nal result.

14. The process of separating from a mass those materials having different specific gravities comprising, feeding said mass on to a pervious deck inclined longitudinally at an angle to the horizontal and having a roughened surface of a character to provide no obstruction or disruption to the free passage over the deck of the 14 material making of said mass, continuously directing the feeding of the mass to said deck at a point intermediate the ends thereof and simultaneously rapidly longitudinally reciprocating the deck, forcing air from the bottom side of said deck upwardly therethrough, confining said. Vmaterial against escape from the side edges of said deck and preventing the discharge of material from the lower end of said deck until the mass on said deck has created a bed of a predetermined thickness, continuing the feed of the mass to said deck and the reciprocation thereof until the heavier materials of the mass have settled into contact with the deck and ar-e moved up the incline of the deck due to said deck reciprocation, crowding the heavy material adjacent the upper end lof the deck to place the particles thereofinto close and contiguous relationship, kcausing said heavy crowded particles to escape on the upper end of said deck through a re- Y stricted elongated outlet opening, creating at the entry of said outlet opening a current of air traveling in a direction inward from said opening, continuing the feed of the mass to the deck and the reciprocation thereof until the weight of the crowded heavy material by its frictional contact with the deck is moved upwardly with suiiicient force to overcome the force of said current of air and thereby enter said outlet opening, aiding the discharge of the heavy material after it has passed through said outlet opening by subjecting it to the force of an outwardly moving current of air, and throughout said operations permitting the lighter material to flow down said deck in response to the force of gravity and to discharge from the top of said .bed over. the lower end of the deck.

i `FRANK E.wooD, Executor of Estate of Henry M Sutton, Deceased. 

